01/04/2024
DrB1414
149 Reviews
DrB1414
1
Be like Water my friend...
Hainan 2005 from Ensar Oud. This is another "wise" oud oil, as I like to call them. Oils that don't necessarily smell "pretty", or "friendly" but rather oils that display a perplexing amount of complexity and development and have much to teach you.
It shifts from start to finish so drastically that if you smell the opening and the dry down individually, you wouldn't believe it's the same oil. It progresses vertically, going through 4 distinct phases.
The opening is one of the most unique, if not the most unique openings of any oud oil I have tried so far. It smells like ambergris, with musky, mineral, almost salty facets, adjoined by an amalgamation of Chinese herbs and spices, almost like walking inside one of those Chinese medicine shops. Nothing woody.
Later, the orange zest accord kicks in, and it hits strongly. The spices fade away while the orange zest feels almost musty and becomes increasingly assertive. In addition, a profile that one might come across in older Yunan oud distillations emerges, showcasing leather, barn, and tobacco accords. The barnyard facet is minimal; nothing to run away from, whereas the leather and tobacco nuances dominate.
The last two stages overlap. The only difference between them is in the wood's texture and the clarity of the notes. The previous accords disappear only to unveil the woody aroma, finally. Brown, creamy, clean, and smooth wood smell, with hints of dusty vanilla and slight traces of green kinam.
Lastly, the wood texture changes from smooth and creamy to almost grainy, and harder, while the vanillic flavor is replaced by a nutty quality, and the green kinamic facet continues to pulsate gently. It dances like this for hours till it fades away—a pristine, nutty sinensis wood smell, with traces of green kinam.
From heavy to light, from blurry to crystal clear. Like spring water galloping down the rocks. It is a complex oil with an abundant color spectrum of red, orange, green, brown, golden, black, gray, and even shades of blue. One that most definitely requires time and patience.
IG:@memory.of.scents
It shifts from start to finish so drastically that if you smell the opening and the dry down individually, you wouldn't believe it's the same oil. It progresses vertically, going through 4 distinct phases.
The opening is one of the most unique, if not the most unique openings of any oud oil I have tried so far. It smells like ambergris, with musky, mineral, almost salty facets, adjoined by an amalgamation of Chinese herbs and spices, almost like walking inside one of those Chinese medicine shops. Nothing woody.
Later, the orange zest accord kicks in, and it hits strongly. The spices fade away while the orange zest feels almost musty and becomes increasingly assertive. In addition, a profile that one might come across in older Yunan oud distillations emerges, showcasing leather, barn, and tobacco accords. The barnyard facet is minimal; nothing to run away from, whereas the leather and tobacco nuances dominate.
The last two stages overlap. The only difference between them is in the wood's texture and the clarity of the notes. The previous accords disappear only to unveil the woody aroma, finally. Brown, creamy, clean, and smooth wood smell, with hints of dusty vanilla and slight traces of green kinam.
Lastly, the wood texture changes from smooth and creamy to almost grainy, and harder, while the vanillic flavor is replaced by a nutty quality, and the green kinamic facet continues to pulsate gently. It dances like this for hours till it fades away—a pristine, nutty sinensis wood smell, with traces of green kinam.
From heavy to light, from blurry to crystal clear. Like spring water galloping down the rocks. It is a complex oil with an abundant color spectrum of red, orange, green, brown, golden, black, gray, and even shades of blue. One that most definitely requires time and patience.
IG:@memory.of.scents
